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The first time I used Chinese was in a Chinese restaurant. I ordered 蒙古牛肉 (Mongolian beef) and 春卷 (Spring rolls). I studied Chinese for a few years and the local Chinese owned establishments were used to students practicing.

One of the first times I used Chinese in China was in Beijing. I was looking for the post office. I couldn't remember the tones for 邮局 (you2ju2) and ended up going though as many tone combinations as I could come up with.. you1ju1 zai nar? you2ju1 zai nar? you3ju1? you4ju? you4ju4? you3ju3? My husband final put an end to my embarrassment and used the proper tones. The woman I was asking replied, "AH! 那里. (oh, there.) " and pointed across the street.

The 1st time I used Chinese was many years ago when I arrived in China for the 1st time.Coming from Laos border into the south of Yunnan, without speaking one single word in Chinese, and no one around me that could speak English.

The first time I used Mandarin was probably asking where the bathroom was during one of my first few days in China. I had no prior Mandarin experience so it was definitely a terribly mutilated version of 厕所在哪里.

I first started using Chinese Ni hao, Xiexie and Zaijian in our class when a Chinese boy was in our English class and he also taught me some basic Chinese. From then on I became interested in the language and have started some basic classes using You Tube

I joined a local meetup group in the Chicago suburban area, that gets together informally to study Mandarin. We have both Chinese and non-Chinese members. The Chinese members also get a chance to practice English. Randy

I see more and more Chinese students at the library. Two months ago, I talked to a young Chinese woman who currently studies rare books from the French middle-age ... and so funny to try to speak Chinese ...

The first time I used Chinese in real life was in my high school's Chinese class. There were two Chinese teachers - one Korean, the other Chinese. The native spoke only Chinese and poor English, so I had to speak in Chinese with her. Everyone liked her because she was such a kind person who always treated students with patience, so I wanted to ask her lots of questions about Chinese language and culture. I remember the first time I talked to her, I said something like "Hello! My name is --- and this is my friend. She learns Japanese."